Living in Vaughn, MT: what to set up and who to call
Vaughn has no town government of its own, so Cascade County runs its elections and most services, and its children attend Vaughn Elementary School District. Tap water in most of Vaughn comes from Vaughn Cascade County Water and Sewer, which has a clean five-year EPA record (about 22% of systems its size had a health-based violation) and a latest lead result below detection.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Vaughn, and who provides it. Tap an answer for the details and where they come from.
Power, water and internet
Who to call to start service at a new address in Vaughn.
Power comes from NorthWestern Energy
NorthWestern Energy (NorthWestern Energy LLC - (MT)), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Vaughn. Its homes paid an average of 14.4¢ per kWh in 2025, about $102 a month (its average across Montana, for customers on its standard service). Montana lets you buy power from another supplier; 0% of NorthWestern Energy’s home customers do, and NorthWestern Energy still delivers it.
Start or move service: northwesternenergy.com · (888) 467-2669
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Vaughn Cascade County Water and Sewer
Vaughn Cascade County Water and Sewer supplies Vaughn: about 67% of residents live in its service area. About 33% of homes are outside any mapped community water system, most likely on private wells, which EPA doesn’t regulate. It draws ground water and serves 585 people in all.
No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 78% of the 5,327 systems serving 501–1,000 people.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2022–Dec 2024, was 0.0 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. Results below detection are reported as 0, so 0 doesn’t mean no lead at any tap.
The system’s full record: EPA ECHO report
EPA SDWIS via Envirofacts (violations pulled Oct 9, 2026) and ECHO (lead samples, 2026Q3); service area: EPA Community Water System Service Area Boundaries v3.0. Violations are counted by the start of their compliance period. MT0000352.
Which providers serve Vaughn
This card will list the home internet providers the FCC’s National Broadband Map shows in Vaughn, the share of addresses that can get 100/20 Mbps and the share with fiber, with the map’s “as of” date.
Source to come: FCC Broadband Data Collection.
We don’t have Vaughn’s trash rules yet
Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Vaughn.
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Vaughn is in two districts that split the grades: Vaughn Elementary School District and Simms High School District.
C−School gradeSee Schools →U.S. Department of Education, NCES Common Core of Data, 2024–25. Enrollment rules and registration are the district’s.
No town hall: the county runs things
Vaughn is unincorporated, so Cascade County is the local government.
Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated Feb 2024; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Vaughn spans 2 ZIP codes
ZIP codes where Vaughn residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Vaughn | ZIP’s residents in Vaughn |
|---|---|---|---|
| 59487 | Vaughn, MT | 87% | 51% |
| 59404 | Great Falls, MT | 13% | 0% |
Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, by census block; post office names: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). ZIPs created since 2020 are missing.
Getting around, the ER and the library
One line each; the subject pages have the rest.
ER: CMS hospital data. Library: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024.
Questions about living in Vaughn
Who supplies Vaughn’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
Vaughn Cascade County Water and Sewer (EPA ID MT0000352). It reported no health-based violations to EPA in the five years to October 2026; 78% of systems its size had none. Its latest lead 90th percentile was 0.0 ppb (Jan 2022–Dec 2024), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Vaughn?
NorthWestern Energy (NorthWestern Energy LLC - (MT)), an investor-owned utility. Its homes paid about 14.4¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What ZIP codes are in Vaughn?
59487 (87%), 59404 (13%), by share of residents. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Vaughn in?
Vaughn Elementary School District and Simms High School District.
How do I register to vote in Vaughn?
Montana has no online registration; you can register in person up to and including Election Day or by mail (postmarked 30 days before). Elections here are run by the Cascade County Election Administrator. Check your registration at prodvoterportal.mt.gov.
Sources & dates
Every answer above names its source. Here they are with their dates.
- Water: EPA SDWIS (Envirofacts, pulled Oct 9, 2026), ECHO SDWA 2026Q3, EPA CWS Service Area Boundaries v3.0.
- Power: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map Aug 2023); EIA-861 final 2025.
- Trash: OpenStreetMap, Geofabrik extract of Oct 9, 2026. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
- ZIP codes: Census 2020 ZCTA relationship files; GeoNames postal codes (CC BY 4.0).
- Schools: NCES Common Core of Data, 2024–25.
- Registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024 (read Oct 10, 2026). Official sites and area codes: Wikidata.
- Election office: FVAP local election office directory (fetched Oct 10, 2026; each record dated), EAC EAVS 2024 jurisdictions; registration and lookup links from vote.gov’s state data, checked Oct 10, 2026.
- Internet (FCC): pending.